What We Eat, Breathe, and Drink Rides on the Farm Bill
We had problems with tainted produce last year. Industrialized farms are finally being shown in their true light as horrific for the animals, the source of major pollution, as well as, the source of hormone and antibiotic infused meat and dairy. So it is so vitally important to pay attention to the U.S. Farm Bill that is up for debate in Congress right now. It has everything to do with our farms. The same ole, same ole bill will pass again if we do not contact our congress people and let them know we want changes in the bill that will be of the greatest advantage to our farmers, ourselves, and our environment.
As my American Farmland Trust (www.farmland.org) newsletter stated about the bill, “Decisions being made now will impact agriculture, the environment and the nation’s food supply far into the future.” It went on to say we all have a stake in this bill. It affects our air, water, and health of our farmlands and forest. It impacts our food choices. Change is needed in the farm bill. The way it subsidizes farmers actually pushes them to overuse fertilizer, which leeches into the Gulf of Mexico and robs water to the bottom of all oxygen. It is a dead zone. Like gulf shrimp? Better talk to your congressman. There is also runoff from over fertilized farmland that pollutes our freshwater with phosphorus and sediment. Newly subsidized ethanol production will cause a glitch of corn by-products that will end up as high fructose corn syrup in every packaged thing we eat. Tired of giving kids Ritalin? Stop the sugar additives! We should be in control of our food.
To understand what is needed, it is important to know how are tax dollars are allocated. Instead of subsidies there should be rewards for environmental stewardship on land. There should be finances available and programs to help farmers manage the risk factors they cannot foresee, like increasingly bad weather patterns. There should be full funding to conserve and protect what is left of our farmland, and support for our local farm markets for all types of foods. Ciolino’s in Monroe is an example of a great farm market with a large variety. Supporting the farm markets leads to new market opportunities for innovation. Finally, we need to invest in renewable energy development on farms and ranches. I can see where funding for this can also subsidize any losses to farmers. If part of their crops are ruined, they will still have income from devoting part of their acreage to wind farming for example.
American Farmland Trust’s recommended policies are highlighted in the brochure Farm and Food Policy for All –Farmers, Citizens, and Communities. Go to AFT’s website above or click on the link to the right and visit their farm policy campaign page to download a free PDF version of this brochure. If you are concerned at all about our food supply, our dwindling farmland, imports of foreign produce instead of our own, our clean air, water, and earth, a return to natural farming which means protecting our grazing land from urban sprawl then read about the changes needed to the 2007 FARM BILL. And contact our congress people. They do pay attention. I always get replies from them and find out where they are on the issue. Congress votes on this bill this fall. Let’s not let another FARM BILL go through without our input. Let’s hope we don’t have another summer of tainted food.
A good example of what can be done when everyone stays on the ball and makes an effort to conserve farmland happened recently here in Michigan. AFT’s Michigan State Director Scott Everett worked with Liberty Renewable Fuels for an ethanol plant to use 32 acres of farmland that was part of a preservation program, but in exchange for this 32 acre parcel, it was agreed that 75 acres of nearby farmland would become permanently protected and off limits to ethanol production. Liberty recognized that production of corn for ethanol must be countered with preservation of other farmland as a balance. It’s an idea of the exchange that can take place if everyone focuses on the environment from all aspects when doing business.
Balance is the key word here. We’ve been out of balance for far too long in this country. The weight of profits from big industry is weighing down our basic rights to pure air, food, and water. The small farms of our supposed “amber waves of grain … and fruited plain” and rancher’s grazing acreage have been in a stranglehold with industrialization far too long. It’s to the point it’s disappearing. We as individuals are not innocent in this. Our urban sprawl evidently was unnecessary. Look at all the empty houses for sale, all the unfilled subdivisions. The use of that land was unnecessary. Every little acre takes a toll. We need to pay attention. The more we learn the more we see how very interconnected we are to everything in our world.